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September 26, 2006
I Kiss You, Borat
I guess this should have been obvious for a while? Also, I hate it when Wikipedia can't answer all my questions
So can we assume that major-motion-picture-star-and-Central-Asian-diplomatic-incident Borat is an intentional knockoff of 1999 internet celebrity Mahir Cagri? You remember Mahir, right? The "I Kiss You" guy? From back when Internet fads weren't just about celebrity sex tapes and amateur porn dressed up as "social networking"?
See here for a link to a copy of the original "I Kiss You" page.
In case Mahir isn't ringing a bell, he was famous because he posted broken English on his web site with lots of exclamation points. He also later released a music video (see below) based on his signature catchphrase, "I Kiss You." According to the Wikipedia entry for "I Kiss You," Mahir's "picture-laden personal homepage, which exclaimed in broken English his love of the accordion and travel, was visited by millions and spawned numerous fansites and parodies, one featured on Fox's MadTV (season 4, episode 20). Mahir was ranked #2 in CNET's Top 10 Web fads (July 15, 2005). [1] The site was also included in PC Magazine's "The 25 Worst Web Sites" list (September 15, 2006). [2] Mahir claimed in various interviews that his personal webpage was hacked, with additions such as "I like sex" embedded into his webpage."
The Wiki entry also pushes the Borat-Mahir connection, though a later edit on the page claims that Borat had been in development since 1995 -- well before Mahir's 1999 debut! Controversy! Scandal! The collective wisdom of Wikipedia will need to settle this soon! The people demand it!
Also, at a certain point, broken English should stop being quite so funny, right? Or do you need to also have the awkward propositions for sex in the broken English?
Mahir, send Sasha Baron Cohen an e-mail and ask him to buy you a new accordion. You've earned it.
Posted by thatkid at September 26, 2006 4:59 PM under
The Papers
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